Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2026 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

We are just a few games away from learning who will be heading to the World Series. The Brewers, thankfully(?) dispatched the Dodgers and are now waiting to see who will win the AL pennant between the Guardians and the Rays. Can the Guardians continue to prove that their late season push to the postseason was not in vain? Will the Rays show the rest of the world why they were the number 1 team in the American League??!

Well, we're not here to answer those questions.

Another one of the topics I wrote about on this humble, little blog was trying to guess which players will make Topps' All-Star Rookie Team. I even used to have a contest to go with it, having readers (I had them back then) send me their rosters, and if they successfully named 10 (or whatever number) of the players who made the ASRT, they'd get recognition and a complete set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup which consists of the 150 base cards. I still have the set but there won't be a contest this year. While Topps has produced more "Rookie Cup" type sets, they've been mostly sold via the Topps Now program or relegated to insert sets. I'd love to see an "addendum" to the 2005 set, featuring players who've been named to the ASRT since 2006 (and maybe sneak in reprints of 2027 Topps cards like they akin to including reprints of 2006 Topps in a 2005 product). I digress.

Even with next season possibly in flux (and figures that the Cubs were announced as the hosts of next year's All-Star Game...will it even happen??!), it's worth talking about the players who burst onto the scene this year and will be making an impact in the MLB going into 2027(?) and beyond. And there are so many possible candidates, most will stir debates long after the final out is played in the World Series.

So who are the contenders. Let's review.

Perusing the MLB website, the stats page allows fans and visitors to sort players by many categories, including "qualified rookies." So what are qualified rookies? Rookie eligibility is, by definition from MLB, 

A player shall be considered a rookie unless he has exceeded any of the following thresholds in a previous season (or seasons):

• 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues.

• 45 total days on an active Major League roster during the Championship Season (excluding time on the Injured List).

The players that appear, whether on hitting or pitching statistics, are among the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. The players can be filtered by position, including individual OF positions. Only drawback? It doesn't show which pitchers throw left-handed or right-handed. You can figure out who the rookie starting pitchers are vs the rookie relievers, which is important now that relief pitchers are included in the selection process.

I read somewhere (possibly a Topps Magazine) that the =MLB managers were the ones who chose the players for the team. I was told a while back that it is no longer the case. And while the person I talked to about this wasn't sure when the practice of asking the managers to vote stopped, based on the past few years' worth of rosters, I can only speculate when the change occurred.

The stats are final through the end of the regular 2026 MLB season (September 27, 2026):

First Basemen:
Bryce Eldridge, SFG (107 G, .269, 17 HR, 57 RBI, .825 OPS, 1 SB)*
Munetaka Murakami, CWS (127 G, 0.207, 35 HR, 77 RBI, 0.825 OPS, 1 SB)
TJ Rumfield, COL (155 G, .300, 16 HR, 73 RBI, 0.843 OPS, 0 SB)
Sal Stewart, CIN (162 G, .263, 32 HR, 112 RBI, 0.787 OPS, 15 SB)

Second Basemen:
Travis Bazzana, CLE (124 G, .245, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 0.743 OPS, 19 SB)
Alex Freeland, LAD (89 G, .234, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0.652 OPS, 4 SB)
Hao-Yu Lee, DET (114 G, .264, 10 HR, 45 RBI, 0.746 OPS, 3 SB)
Pedro Ramirez, CHC (80 G, .261, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 0.723 OPS, 9 SB)
JJ Wetherholt, STL (139 G, .242, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 0.704 OPS, 14 SB)

Third Basemen:
Kazuma Okamoto, TOR (156 G, .232, 33 HR, 92 RBI, 0.762 OPS, 1 SB)
Denzer Guzman, LAA (87 G, .219, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 0.602 OPS, 2 SB)

Shortstops:
Konnor Griffin, PIT (80 G, .272, 6 HR, 33 RBI, .728 OPS, 23 SB)
Kevin McGonigle, DET (156 G, .278, 18 HR, 72 RBI, .806 OPS, 12 SB)
Cooper Pratt, MIL (74 G, .281, 3 HR, 34 RBI, .718 OPS, 19 SB)

Outfielders:
Sam Antonacci, CWS (140 G, .277, 8 HR, 48 RBI, 0.766 OPS, 20 SB)
Dylan Beavers, BAL (104 G, .228, 9 HR, 44 RBI, 0.680 OPS, 5 SB)
Carson Benge, NYM (156 G, .282, 20 HR, 65 RBI, 0.776 OPS, 22 SB)
Henry Bolte, ATH (119 G, .277, 11 HR, 38 RBI, 0.764 OPS, 21 SB)
Owen Caissie, MIA (108 G, .220, 14 HR, 58 RBI, 0.700 OPS, 5 SB)
Cole Carrigg, COL (93 G, .279, 12 HR, 53 RBI, 0.818 OPS, 11 SB)
Nathan Church, STL (142 G, .247, 10 HR, 50 RBI, .654 OPS, 10 SB)
Justin Crawford, PHI (149 G, .264, 3 HR, 41 RBI, .662 OPS, 17 SB)
Chase DeLauter, CLE (133 G, .287, 16 HR, 67 RBI, .820 OPS, 11 SB)
A.J. Ewing, NYM (120 G, .252, 11 HR, 43 RBI, .700 OPS, 25 SB)
Spencer Jones, NYY (86 G, .245, 11 HR, 40 RBI, .742 OPS, 11 SB)
Wade Meckler, LAA (98 G, .300, 3 HR, 27 RBI, .760 OPS, 8 SB)
Victor Mesa Jr., TBR (79 G, .260, 14 HR, 34 RBI, .825 OPS, 9 SB)

Braden Montgomery, CWS (93 G, .279, 6 HR, 38 RBI, .662 OPS, 1 SB)
Tristan Peters, CWS (156 G, .265, 12 HR, 56 RBI, .774 OPS, 8 SB)
Esmerlyn Valdez, PIT (72 G, .232, 17 HR, 47 RBI, .855 OPS, 0 SB)
Ryan Waldschmidt, ARI (82 G, .256, 3 HR, 22 RBI, .693 OPS, 7 SB)

Catchers:
Moises Ballesteros, LAA (104 G, .215, 9 HR, 35 RBI, .612 OPS, 1 SB)
Samuel Basallo, BAL (112 G, .222, 18 HR, 54 RBI, .697 OPS, 0 SB)
Carter Jensen, KCR (149 G, .239, 27 HR, 81 RBI, .790 OPS, 2 SB)
Joe Mack, MIA (105 G, .234, 14 HR, 52 RBI, .685 OPS, 0 SB)
Brandon Valenzuela, TOR (91 G, .222, 9 HR, 23 RBI, .679 OPS, 2 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Bubba Chandler, PIT (30 GS, 8-10, 4.50 ERA, 140 K, 1.40 WHIP)
Logan Henderson MIL (18 GS, 11-3, 2.47 ERA, 110 K, 0.84 WHIP)
Ryan Johnson, LAA (19 GS, 5-9, 5.04 ERA, 79 K, 1.39 WHIP)
Rhett Lowder, CIN (26 GS, 7-12, 5.74 ERA, 103 K, 1.52 WHIP)
Nolan McLean, NYM (31 GS, 12-10, 3.16 ERA, 194 K, 1.17 WHIP)
Andrew Painter, PHI (23 GS, 3-10, 5.40 ERA, 115 K, 1.41 WHIP)
Brandon Sproat, MIL (19 GS, 3-7, 5.57 ERA, 101 K, 1.44 WHIP)
Walbert Ureña, LAA (27 GS, 9-11, 2.97 ERA, 142 K, 1.23 WHIP)
Trey Yesavage, TOR (20 GS, 5-6, 3.69 ERA, 97 K, 1.14 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Andrew Alvarez, WAS (17 GS, 3.43 ERA, 114 K, 1.30 WHIP)
Jake Bennett, BOS (19 GS, 9-7, 3.65 ERA, 91 K, 1.10 WHIP)
Shane Drohan, MIL (19 GS, 7-5, 4.19 ERA, 125 K, 1.32 WHIP, 2 SV)
Connelly Early, WAS (18 GS, 7-5, 94.2 ERA, 94 K, 1.23 WHIP)
Robert Gasser, MIL (27 GS, 5-5, 3.87 ERA, 103 K, 1.19 WHIP)
Foster Griffin, CLE, (31 GS, 15-6, 3.60 ERA, 158 K, 1.21 WHIP)
Gage Jump, ATH (20 GS, 6-11, 5.47 ERA, 108 K, 1.52 WHIP)
Parker Messick, CLE (32 GS, 12-9, 2.56 ERA, 193 K, 1.06 WHIP)
Connor Prielipp, MIN (22 GS, 6-7, 4.87 ERA, 128 K, 1.29 WHIP)
Zac Thornton, NYM (15 GS, 5-6, 3.42 ERA, 63 K, 1.14 WHIP)
Payton Tolle, BOS (26 GS, 9-6, 3.03 ERA, 171 K, 1.10 WHIP)

Relief Pitchers:
AJ Blubaugh, HOU (64 G, 5-3, 3.66 ERA, 94 K, 1.23 WHIP, 1 SV)
Spencer Miles, TOR (49 G, 6-2, 2.73 ERA, 93 K, 1.10 WHIP, 2 SV)

Designated Hitter:

*The only player mlb.com recognized as a DH was Bryce Eldridge of the Giants.

In the beginning, there were only 10 spots on Topps' ASRT: 1 player for each infield position, 1 catcher, 3 outfielders (I believe regardless of position), 1 right-handed pitcher, and 1 left-handed pitcher, regardless if they were a starter or a reliever. 

In 2010, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule. Strasburg, the wunderkind rookie, was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so was Neftali Feliz, who at the time was the star closer for the Rangers, and a player in most years would have been named onto the team as the RHP. So what happened? With Strasburg named as the RHP for the team, Feliz was named the team's first relief pitcher.

In 2011, Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher (the Rays' Jeremy Hillickson) and one Relief pitcher (Craig Kimbrel of the Braves). Topps returned to the three-man pitching staff in 2012, and this has been the arrangement ever since. 

The designated hitter position was first used in 1977 when future Hall-of-Famer Eddie Murray of the Orioles had split votes between first base and the outfield to make it onto the team outright, but not at either position. The DH was not utilized again until 2015, when Miguel Sanó of the Twins was named onto that year's ASRT. The slot was used on-and-off for a time, when Shohei Ohtani (2018) and Yordan Alvarez (2019) were named to the teams. But now that both leagues use the DH in games, there has been one named to the ASRT since 2022.

The day the players are selected to the team has varied from year to year, with the last few being announced in mid-December. I'll post my picks for the team soon. Feel free to share your selections in the comments, even though there isn't a contest this year.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The 2025 Topps All-Star Rookie Team...Thoughts?

When I was a bit more active on the blog years ago, one of my end-of-the-season focuses was on who would be named to Topps' All-Star Rookie Teams. Even during the hiatus, every time the ASRT was announced, I'd find my way to Wikipedia and update the Topps All-Star Rookie Team pages and add the newly-named players to the article. I think I've added names to the List of Topps All-Star Rookie Teams page since 2009 (the page itself was created in 2006).

Not only have I updated the team roster list, but if a player who was named onto the ASRT was eventually enshrined into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I updated that important list as well. As of today (the announcement for who will be inducted into Baseball's HOF will take place on January 20) there are 37 Hall of Famers who were named to the ASRT, 35 as players, 2 as managers. Jeff Kent, voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee last month, now ranks among this special group.

Back to the point.

In what is probably the latest it was ever announced, on December 30, 2025, Topps named their All-Star Rookie Team:

• Drake Baldwin, C, Atlanta Braves
• Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics
• Luke Keaschall, 2B, Minnesota Twins
• Matt Shaw, 3B, Chicago Cubs
• Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics
• Isaac Collins, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
• Roman Anthony, OF, Boston Red Sox
• Jakob Marsee, OF, Miami Marlins
• Cade Horton, RHP, Chicago Cubs
• Noah Cameron, LHP, Kansas City Royals
• Jack Dreyer, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Agustín Ramírez, DH, Miami Marlins

The team includes both of this year's AL and NL Rookies of the year, Drake Baldwin of the Braves and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics.

2025 Topps Update Series Nick Kurtz #US201 and Drake Baldwin #US87

Of the 12 players named to the team, both Roman Anthony and Jakob Marsee did not appear in any of the flagship sets (Series 1, 2, Update). Even their Topps Now cards had a "Call Up" designation, meaning they will have their rookie cards in 2026 Topps products.

As a Cubs fan, it's great to see both Horton and Shaw make the team, making it two years in a row that the Cubbies had a pair of players named to the ASRT (Michael Busch and Shota Imanaga were last year's duo). 

But what do you think of this year's team? Was there someone who should have been named? I keep hearing Caleb Durbin of the Brewers should have been picked over Shaw, but other than that, it seems that other collectors are happy with the list.

I just want to see what the 2026 design looks like so we can see these players' cards are going to look like with the Rookie Cup trophy. We've seen what the packaging is going to look like, so it's only a matter of time.

That reminds me. I still have an extra base set of the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup set...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing the 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

The 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Image from MLB Network.

The 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team was announced this morning on MLB Network's Hot Stove program. And there are number of surprises, at least for me.

Congratulations are in order for the 11 players who make up Topps' 58th ASRT. If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team yesterday).

• 1B: Cody Bellinger, LAD (132 G, 0.267, 39 HR, 97 RBI, 0.933 OPS, 10 SB)
• 2B: Ian Happ, CHC (115 G, 0.253, 24 HR, 68 RBI, 0.842 OPS, 8 SB)
• 3B: Rafael Devers, BOS (58 G, 0.284, 10 HR, 30 RBI, 0.819 OPS, 3 SB)
• SS: Paul DeJong, STL (108 G, 0.285, 26 HR, 65 RBI, 0.857 OPS, 1 SB)
• OF: Andrew Benintendi, BOS (151 G, 0.271, 20 HR, 90 RBI, 0.776 OPS, 20 SB)
• OF: Aaron Judge, NYY (155 G, 0.284, 52 HR, 114 RBI, 1.049 OPS, 9 SB)
• OF: Trey Mancini, BAL (147 G, 0.293, 24 HR, 78 RBI, 0.826 OPS, 1 SB)
• C: Manny Pina, MIL (107 G, 0.279, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 0.751 OPS, 2 SB)
• RHSP: German Marquez, COL (29 GS, 11-7, 4.39 ERA, 147 SO, 1.376 WHIP)
• LHSP: Jordan Montgomery, NYY (29 GS, 9-7, 3.88 ERA, 144 SO, 1.229 WHIP)
• RP: Josh Hader, MIL (35 G, 2-3, 2.08 ERA, 68 SO, 0.986 WHIP, 0 SV)

So I guessed 7 out of now 11 spots correctly, even if I had Bellinger in the outfield and DeJong at second. I had Josh Bell at first, Matt Davidson at third, Dansby Swanson at short, and Wandy Peralta as the reliever. This was a poor showing on my end.

Now my comments.

• Three teams have 2 representatives on the team (Brewers, Red Sox, and Yankees).
• I am happy (pun intended) that the Cubs have some representation this time around with Happ. I had DeJong as my 2B, but Happ could have taken this spot had I thought I could use DeJong at short.
• Topps is showing some consistency with naming three pitchers to the team (two starters, 1 reliever).
• Even though I'm not a White Sox fan, I'm really disappointed that Devers was picked over Davidson. Granted Davidson had a low .222 batting average, but he played a full season. It just shows once again the White Sox don't get much Hobby love.
• Had I thought of putting Bellinger in as my 1B, I would have put Mancini in as the third outfielder.

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2018 Topps cards. I will be going over the results shortly and will announce the winners, if any, soon.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Who Will Be Named to Topps 2017 All-Star Rookie Team?

I know I promised to post this last week, but between interviews and personal commitments, this got stalled. But since I ran the contest this year, I thought I'd get this on now before the official announcement from Topps.

The contest deadline has past and I am no longer taking any entries for the big All-Star Rookie Team contest. I thank everyone who took time to participate. There were a lot of interesting choices amongst the field of participants, so I am wishing myself the best. This could get mighty expensive if I make enough mistakes.

By now, the Topps Company should have already decided who is going to be part of the 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, and will get that lovely gold trophy added to their 2018 Topps baseball cards. So without further ado, here are my picks for the 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie team. If you out-guessed me, participants who have already sent their entries to my e-mail address could win a complete 150-card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (contest rules here):

• 1B: Josh Bell, PIT (159 G, 0.255, 26 HR, 90 RBI, 0.800 OPS, 2 SB)
• 2B: Paul DeJong, STL (108 G, 0.285, 26 HR, 65 RBI, 0.857 OPS, 1 SB)
• 3B: Matt Davidson, CWS (118 G, 0.220, 26 HR, 68 RBI, 0.711 OPS, 0 SB)
• SS: Dansby Swanson, ATL (144 G, 0.232, 6 HR, 51 RBI, 0.636 OPS, 3 SB)
• OF: Cody Bellinger, LAD (132 G, 0.267, 39 HR, 97 RBI, 0.933 OPS, 10 SB)
• OF: Andrew Benintendi, BOS (151 G, 0.271, 20 HR, 90 RBI, 0.776 OPS, 20 SB)
• OF: Aaron Judge, NYY (155 G, 0.284, 52 HR, 114 RBI, 1.049 OPS, 9 SB)
• C: Manny Pina, MIL (107 G, 0.279, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 0.751 OPS, 2 SB)
• RHSP: German Marquez, COL (29 GS, 11-7, 4.39 ERA, 147 SO, 1.376 WHIP)
• LHSP: Jordan Montgomery, NYY (29 GS, 9-7, 3.88 ERA, 144 SO, 1.229 WHIP)
• RP: Wandy Peralta, CIN (67 G, 3-4, 3.76 ERA, 57 SO, 1.190 WHIP, 0 SV)

For sure there will be players like Ian Happ of the Cubs, Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies, Trey Mancini of the Orioles, Matt Olsen of the Athletics who will warrant consideration, as well as Rockies rookie pitchers Anthony Senzatela, and Kyle Freeland, as well as Keynan Middleton of the Angels and Jharel Cotton of the Athletics.

Let the debates begin!!! And good luck to everybody. Now...we wait.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2017 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

The regular season ends this weekend, and it looks like the 10 teams who will head into the post season have already been determined. It's been a couple of years since I last did this, so now that I have a bit more free-time on my hands, why not bring this up again.

After the regular season ends, I'm going to do my annual comparing MLB Debut classes from 20 years ago and this year. I didn't do one last year, and I'm working on it as part of my new "Project: Catching Up to What I Should Have Posted Last Year." But before I start writing last year's comparison post, and preparing for this year's entry, let's talk about who could be getting that illustrious Topps All-Star Rookie Cup added to their eponymous 2018 Topps Card.

Why?

Because...this is a Topps Blog and I want to do it (Ego...)

Because it's the end of the year, and it's worth talking about the players who burst onto the scene this year and will be making an impact in the MLB going into 2018 and beyond. And there are so many possible candidates. Some who should be slam dunks (cough...Judge...cough), others can and will stir debates long after the final out is played in the World Series.

So who are the contenders. Let's review.

Perusing the MLB website, there is a tab that brings up a section called the Top Rookie Tracker. This section features just a handful of the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for will represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp, and relief pitcher...ahem...will explain this in a minute).

I used to say that the 30 MLB managers will be the ones voting for the team. I was told a while back that it is no longer the case. And while the person I talked to about this wasn't sure when the practice of asking the managers to vote stopped, based on the past few years' worth of rosters, I can only speculate when the change occurred.

The stats are as the end of the games on Wednesday, September 27, 2017:

First Basemen:

Jesus Aguilar, MIL (130 G, 0.263, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 0.827 OPS, 0 SB)
Josh Bell, PIT (155 G, 0.256, 25 HR, 87 RBI, 0.801 OPS, 2 SB)
Trey Mancini, BAL (144 G, 0.294, 24 HR, 78 RBI, 0.830 OPS, 1 SB)
Matt Olson, OAK (59 G, 0.259, 24 HR, 45 RBI, 1.003 OPS, 0 SB)
T.J. Rivera, NYM (73 G, 0.29, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 0.760 OPS, 1 SB)

Second Basemen:
Ozzie Albies, ATL (53 G, 0.281, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 0.803 OPS, 7 SB)
Carlos Asuaje, SD (86 G, 0.268, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0.695 OPS, 0 SB)
Paul DeJong, STL (104 G, 0.282, 24 HR, 62 RBI, 0.846 OPS, 1 SB)
Yoan Moncada, CWS (50 G, 0.232, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 0.761 OPS, 3 SB)
Chad Pinder, OAK (87 G, 0.238, 15 HR, 42 RBI, 0.750 OPS, 2 SB)

Third Basemen:
Matt Chapman, OAK (80 G, 0.229, 13 HR, 36 RBI, 0.769 OPS, 0 SB)
Johan Camargo, ATL (80 G, 0.297, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 0.781 OPS, 0 SB)
Matt Davidson, CWS (115 G, 0.221, 26 HR, 68 RBI, 0.721 OPS, 0 SB)
Rafael Devers, BOS (54 G, 0.291, 10 HR, 26 RBI, 0.839 OPS, 3 SB)
Yuli Gurriel, HOU (135 G, 0.297, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 0.816 OPS, 3 SB)

Shortstops:
Amed Rosario, NYM (43 G, 0.263, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 0.701 OPS, 7 SB)
Dansby Swanson, ATL (140 G, 0.231, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 0.642 OPS, 3 SB)
Pat Valaika, COL (108 G, 0.261, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 0.833 OPS, 0 SB)

Outfielders:
Cody Bellinger, LAD (129 G, 0.269, 39 HR, 96 RBI, 0.942 OPS, 10 SB)
Andrew Benintendi, BOS (148 G, 0.275, 20 HR, 89 RBI, 0.788 OPS, 19 SB)
Jorge Bonifacio, KC (111 G, 0.252, 16 HR, 37 RBI, 0.742 OPS, 1 SB)
Nick Delmonico, CWS (41 G, 0.267, 9 HR, 23 RBI, 0.874 OPS, 2 SB)
Clint Frazier, NYY (38 G, 0.237, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 0.731 OPS, 1 SB)
Ben Gamel, SEA (131 G, 0.28, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 0.747 OPS, 4 SB)
Brian Goodwin, WSH (74 G, 0.251, 13 HR, 30 RBI, 0.811 OPS, 6 SB)
Mitch Haniger, SEA (93 G, 0.276, 16 HR, 47 RBI, 0.831 OPS, 5 SB)
Ian Happ, CHC (111 G, 0.253, 22 HR, 63 RBI, 0.832 OPS, 8 SB)
Guillermo Heredia, SEA (123 G, 0.249, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 0.652 OPS, 1 SB)
Rhys Hoskins, PHI (47 G, 0.266, 18 HR, 47 RBI, 1.056 OPS, 1 SB)
Aaron Judge, NYY (152 G, 0.284, 50 HR, 111 RBI, 1.043 OPS, 9 SB)
Manuel Margot, SD (124 G, 0.267, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 0.733 OPS, 17 SB)
Jose Martinez, STL (102 G, 0.308, 13 HR, 42 RBI, 0.888 OPS, 4 SB)
Brandon Nimmo, NYM (66 G, 0.273, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 0.820 OPS, 2 SB)
Jose Osuna, PIT (102 G, 0.235, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 0.703 OPS, 0 SB)
Hunter Renfroe, SD (119 G, 0.231, 25 HR, 57 RBI, 0.751 OPS, 3 SB)
Nick Williams, PHI (80 G, 0.283, 11 HR, 52 RBI, 0.801 OPS, 1 SB)
Jesse Winker, CIN (44 G, 0.292, 7 HR, 14 RBI, 0.901 OPS, 1 SB)
Bradley Zimmer, CLE (101 G, 0.241, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 0.692 OPS, 18 SB)

Catchers:
Manny Pina, MIL (107 G, 0.279, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 0.751 OPS, 2 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Parker Bridwell, LAA (19 GS, 9-3, 3.87 ERA, 70 SO, 1.237 WHIP)
Luis Castillo, CIN (15 GS, 3-7, 3.12 ERA, 98 SO, 1.075 WHIP)
Jharel Cotton, OAK (24 GS, 9-10, 5.58 ERA, 105 SO, 1.442 WHIP)
Jake Faria, TB (13 GS, 5-4, 3.33 ERA, 82 SO, 1.147 WHIP)
Carson Fulmer, CWS (4 GS, 2-1, 4.42 ERA, 17 SO, 1.309 WHIP)
Sam Gaviglio, KC (13 GS, 4-5, 4.30 ERA, 49 SO, 1.350 WHIP)
Lucas Giolito, CWS (7 GS, 3-3, 2.38 ERA, 34 SO, 0.949 WHIP)
Robert Gsellman, NYM (22 GS, 8-7, 5.19 ERA, 82 SO, 1.504 WHIP)
Jeff Hoffman, COL (16 GS, 6-5, 5.71 ERA, 81 SO, 1.423 WHIP)
Jakob Junis, KC (15 GS, 8-3, 4.39 ERA, 75 SO, 1.289 WHIP)
Dinelson Lamet, SD (21 GS, 7-8, 4.57 ERA, 139 SO, 1.242 WHIP)
Mark Leiter, PHI (11 GS, 3-6, 4.96 ERA, 84 SO, 1.335 WHIP)
German Marquez, COL (28 GS, 11-7, 4.38 ERA, 145 SO, 1.385 WHIP)
Alex Meyer, LAA (13 GS, 4-5, 3.74 ERA, 75 SO, 1.337 WHIP)
Nick Pivetta, PHI (25 GS, 7-10, 6.26 ERA, 133 SO, 1.516 WHIP)
Antonio Senzatela, COL (20 GS, 10-5, 4.65 ERA, 101 SO, 1.287 WHIP)
Trevor Williams, PIT (25 GS, 7-9, 4.07 ERA, 117 SO, 1.310 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Ty Blach, SF (24 GS, 8-12, 4.84 ERA, 72 SO, 1.367 WHIP)
Kyle Freeland, COL (27 GS, 11-10, 4.06 ERA, 107 SO, 1.477 WHIP)
Adalberto Mejia, MIN (21 GS, 4-7, 4.50 ERA, 85 SO, 1.571 WHIP)
Jordan Montgomery, NYY (28 GS, 9-7, 3.96 ERA, 141 SO, 1.253 WHIP)
Sean Newcomb, ATL (19 GS, 4-9, 4.32 ERA, 108 SO, 1.57 WHIP)

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers:
John Brebbia, STL (47 G, 0-0, 2.59 ERA, 48 SO, 0.945 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jonathan Holder, NYY (36 G, 1-1, 3.43 ERA, 40 SO, 1.297 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jose Leclerc, TEX (47 G, 2-3, 3.94 ERA, 60 SO, 1.38 WHIP, 2 SV)
Austin Pruitt, TB (30 G, 7-5, 5.31 ERA, 66 SO, 1.506 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jarlin Garcia, MIA (66 G, 1-2, 4.85 ERA, 41 SO, 1.173 WHIP, 0 SV)
James Pazos, SEA (57 G, 4-5, 3.54 ERA, 64 SO, 1.350 WHIP, 0 SV)
Wandy Peralta, CIN (67 G, 3-4, 3.88 ERA, 54 SO, 1.197 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jose Torres, SD (61 G, 7-4, 4.28 ERA, 63 SO, 1.144 WHIP, 1 SV)

If you're wondering why I separated the starting pitchers from the relief pitchers, and then if they are right handed or left handed, allow me to explain (conspiracy theory time folks...get something to drink, this may take a while).

As you all know, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule in 2010. Somehow, Strasburg was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Now, Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so was Neftali Feliz, who at the time was the star closer for the Rangers, and a player many people believed should have been named onto the team as the RHP. In past years, it didn't matter if a pitcher was a starter or a reliever, only ONE RHP or ONE LHP was chosen for the team (of course there were exceptions…tie votes came into play).

So what does Topps do? For the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, they added a relief pitcher spot. This ensured not only Feliz' spot on the team, but gave Topps justification to include their poster boy Strasburg.

Then in 2011, instead of continuing the trend of having three pitchers (a RHP, a LHP, and a RP), Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher and one Relief pitcher. In 2012, Topps went back to a "three-person pitching staff" which included a Starting RHP, a starting LHP, and one reliever. This was done again in 2013, and has been the "norm" ever since.

In past years, this blog has done a contest where the object is to outguess me in choosing the Rookie Teams. The Grand Prize, if a contestant correctly guessed all the members of said team, was a complete 150 card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (appropriate, no?). Anyway, while few have come close, none have won the grand prize. Those who did guess more players correctly than I did would win a pack of that year's Updates and Highlights/Update Series.

Well, why not bring that back as well??! It's the only contest/giveaway attempt I really do around here, and I still have the now eleven year old set in my possession.

So take a look at the list above, send me an e-mail (bdj610@hotmail.com) with your picks by Sunday, October 29, 2017. You can pick the following (11 players total):

• One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
• Three players for OF,
• One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP.

On Monday, October 30, 2017, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2017 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy. While there are certainly going to be some slam dunks (cough...Bellinger...cough), the field for other players are definitely wide open, so anything goes.

So here's to hopefully many entries by October 29 . Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team Contest Winners!!!

Now that the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team has been announced, I have spent the good part of the morning going over all the e-mails I received, seeing who outguessed me in the All-Star Rookie Team contest.

Even with the unanimous picks of Jose Abreu, and Billy Hamilton, nobody correctly predicted all eleven players who would make the team this year. The fact that Topps named Danny Santana as the third outfielder and not as the shortstop, even though MLB.com had him listed as one (in Topps' defense he played 69 games in CF compared to 34 games at short) pretty much ruined everyone's chances for a perfect score. But once again, nobody wins the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup set grand prize.

More entries were sent to me this year than in last year's contest (which is a testament to the fact that last year at this time, I was down to almost nothing in terms of posts...hence almost no readers), so needless to say I was a bit nervous that the results would be expensive on my part. But out of all the entries I did receive, only one person beat my score of nine. The congratulatory e-mail has already been sent, so it's okay for me to announce the winner:

Congratulations to Anthony Zarriello!!!

Many of the people who participated in the contest did get the same number of players right that I did...a big fat nine. The Santana screw-up aside, Mr. Zarriello once again came close to perfection with 10 correct picks (his third outfielder was Oscar Taveras). Regardless, a Jumbo pack of 2014 Update Series for outguessing me.

Thank you very much to all who participated in the contest. Although nobody got all eleven to win the grand prize, I promise to run this contest again next year. Hopefully somebody will win it.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

The MLB managers have spoken, and today, Topps has announced the players named to the 55th All-Star Rookie Team!!! (If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team earlier this month).

• 1B: Jose Abreu, CWS (145 G, 0.317, 36 HR, 107 RBI, 0.964 OPS, 3 SB)
• 2B: Kolten Wong, STL (113 G, 0.249, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 0.68 OPS, 20 SB)
• 3B: Nick Castellanos, DET (148 G, 0.259, 11 HR, 66 RBI, 0.7 OPS, 2 SB)
• SS: Xander Bogaerts, BOS (144 G, 0.240, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 0.66 OPS, 2 SB)
• OF: Billy Hamilton, CIN (152 G, 0.250, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 0.648 OPS, 56 SB)
• OF: Danny Santana, MIN (101 G, 0.319, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 0.824 OPS, 20 SB)
• OF: George Springer, HOU (78 G, 0.231, 20 HR, 51 RBI, 0.804 OPS, 5 SB)
• C: Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (108 G, 0.242, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 0.718 OPS, 1 SB)
• RHSP: Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (20 GS, 13-5, 2.77 ERA, 141 SO, 1.056 WHIP)
• LHSP: Roenis Elias, SEA (29 GS, 10-12, 3.85 ERA, 143 SO, 1.314 WHIP)
• RP: Dellin Betances, NYY (70 G, 5-0, 1.40 ERA, 135 SO, 0.778 WHIP, 1 SV)

So I guessed 9 out of now 11 spots correctly. I guessed Kevin Kiermaier as one of my outfielders and Matt Shoemaker as my right-handed starting pitcher. Last year, I was almost close to perfect (getting 10 of the 11 spots correct).

Now my comments. At least now Topps is showing some consistency with naming three pitchers to the team (two starters, 1 reliever). Good thing that I asked those entering the All-Star Rookie Team contest to name four pitchers (two right-handers, two-left handers) just in case.

Figures that Tanaka gets the RHSP spot, and many have taken to social media to make their displeasure known (Matt Shoemaker and Jacob deGrom were two of the names more people thought should have been named instead of the Yankees' hurler (figures...should have known).

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2015 Topps cards. I will be going over the results shortly and will announce the winners if any soon.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Who Will Be Named to Topps 2014 All-Star Rookie Team?

The contest deadline has past and I am no longer taking any entries for the big All-Star Rookie Team contest. I thank everyone who took time to participate. There were a lot of interesting choices amongst the field of participants, so I am wishing myself the best. This could get mighty expensive if I make enough mistakes.

By now, the Topps Company has already sent the 30 MLB managers a ballot that will determine who will get voted into the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, and will get that lovely gold trophy added to their 2015 Topps baseball cards. So without further ado, here are my picks for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie team. If you out-guessed me, participants who have already sent their entries to my e-mail address (and those who may have inadvertently left their picks in the comments) could win a complete 150-card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (contest rules here):

• 1B: Jose Abreu, CWS (145 G, 0.317, 36 HR, 107 RBI, 0.964 OPS, 3 SB)
• 2B: Kolten Wong, STL (113 G, 0.249, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 0.68 OPS, 20 SB)
• 3B: Nick Castellanos, DET (148 G, 0.259, 11 HR, 66 RBI, 0.7 OPS, 2 SB)
• SS: Xander Bogaerts, BOS (144 G, 0.240, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 0.66 OPS, 2 SB)
• OF: Billy Hamilton, CIN (152 G, 0.250, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 0.648 OPS, 56 SB)
• OF: Kevin Kiermaier, TB (108 G, 0.263, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 0.765 OPS, 5 SB)
• OF: George Springer, HOU (78 G, 0.231, 20 HR, 51 RBI, 0.804 OPS, 5 SB)
• C: Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (108 G, 0.242, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 0.718 OPS, 1 SB)
• RHSP: Matt Shoemaker, LAA (20 GS, 16-4, 3.04 ERA, 124 SO, 1.074 WHIP)
• LHSP: Roenis Elias, SEA (29 GS, 10-12, 3.85 ERA, 143 SO, 1.314 WHIP)
• RHRP: Dellin Betances, NYY (70 G, 5-0, 1.40 ERA, 135 SO, 0.778 WHIP, 1 SV)

For sure there will be players like Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, Yangervis Solarte of the Padres, Brock Holt of the Red Sox, Gregory Polanco of the Pirates, and Jonathan Schoop of Orioles who will warrant consideration, as well as Jacob deGrom of the Mets, and Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees, and others will have their votes (from either the MLB managers, or you the readers). I made these picks shortly before any e-mails were sent (scheduling it for today soon after the post announcing the contest).

Let the debates begin!!! And good luck to everybody. Now...we wait.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Okay, the season is more than two weeks over, and the World Series will begin next Tuesday (if you had the Royals and Giants in your World Series pool, you were right...AND YOU'RE LYING!!!). What better time than now to discuss the Top Rookies of 2014?

Why?

Because these are the guys that are going to be strong contenders for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, that's why.

Anyway, perusing the MLB website, they have added a set of statistics in a section called the Top Rookie Tracker. This section features just a handful of the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for well represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp, and relief pitcher…ahem...will explain this in a minute). So below is a list of potential nominees that the 30 MLB managers will see when they cast their votes for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. The stats are as of the end of the 2014 regular season:

First Basemen:
Jose Abreu, CWS (145 G, 0.317, 36 HR, 107 RBI, 0.964 OPS, 3 SB)
Eric Campbell, NYM (85 G, 0.263, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 0.68 OPS, 3 SB)
C. J. Cron, LAA (79 G, 0.256, 11 HR, 37 RBI, 0.739 OPS, 0 SB)
Tommy Medica, SD (102 G, 0.233, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 0.694 OPS, 6 SB)
Jon Singleton, HOU (95 G, 0.168, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 0.62 OPS, 2 SB)
Kennys Vargas, MIN (53 G, 0.274, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 0.772 OPS, 0 SB)

Second Basemen:
Tommy La Stella, ATL (93 G, 0.251, 1 HR, 31 RBI, 0.644 OPS, 2 SB)
Kristopher Negron, CIN (49 G, 0.271, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 0.81 OPS, 5 SB)
Rougned Odor, TEX (114 G, 0.259, 9 HR, 48 RBI, 0.698 OPS, 4 SB)
Joe Panik, SF (73 G, 0.305, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 0.711 OPS, 0 SB)
Jonathan Schoop, BAL (137 G, 0.209, 16 HR, 45 RBI, 0.598 OPS, 2 SB)
Kolten Wong, STL (113 G, 0.249, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 0.68 OPS, 20 SB)

Third Basemen:
Nick Castellanos, DET (148 G, 0.259, 11 HR, 66 RBI, 0.7 OPS, 2 SB)
Brock Holt, BOS (106 G, 0.281, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 0.711 OPS, 12 SB)
Mike Olt, CHC (89 G, 0.160, 12 HR, 33 RBI, 0.604 OPS, 0 SB)
Marcus Semien, CWS (64 G, 0.234, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 0.673 OPS, 3 SB)
Yangervis Solarte, SD (131 G, 0.260, 10 HR, 48 RBI, 0.705 OPS, 0 SB)

Shortstops:
Javier Baez, CHC (52 G, 0.169, 9 HR, 20 RBI, 0.551 OPS, 5 SB)
Xander Bogaerts, BOS (144 G, 0.240, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 0.66 OPS, 2 SB)
Wilmer Flores, NYM (78 G, 0.251, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 0.664 OPS, 1 SB)
Chris Owings, ARI (91 G, 0.261, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 0.706 OPS, 8 SB)
Danny Santana, MIN (101 G, 0.319, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 0.824 OPS, 20 SB)
Eugenio Suarez, DET (85 G, 0.242, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 0.652 OPS, 3 SB)
Chris Taylor, SEA (47 G, 0.287, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 0.692 OPS, 5 SB)

Outfielders:
Jackie Bradley, Jr., BOS (127 G, 0.198, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 0.531 OPS, 8 SB)
Michael Choice, TEX (86 G, 0.182, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 0.57 OPS, 1 SB)
Billy Hamilton, CIN (152 G, 0.250, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 0.648 OPS, 56 SB)
Ender Inciarte, ARI (118 G, 0.278, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 0.677 OPS, 19 SB)
James Jones, SEA (108 G, 0.250, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 0.589 OPS, 27 SB)
Kevin Kiermaier, TB (108 G, 0.263, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 0.765 OPS, 5 SB)
Jake Marisnick, HOU (65 G, 0.249, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 0.607 OPS, 11 SB)
David Peralta, ARI (88 G, 0.286, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 0.77 OPS, 6 SB)
Gregory Polanco, PIT (89 G, 0.235, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 0.65 OPS, 14 SB)
Jorge Soler, CHC (24 G, 0.292, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 0.903 OPS, 1 SB)
George Springer, HOU (78 G, 0.231, 20 HR, 51 RBI, 0.804 OPS, 5 SB)
Oscar Taveras, STL (80 G, 0.239, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 0.59 OPS, 0 SB)

Catchers:
Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (108 G, 0.242, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 0.718 OPS, 1 SB)
Josmil Pinto, MIN (57 G, 0.219, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 0.705 OPS, 0 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Chase Anderson, ARI (21 GS, 9-7, 4.01 ERA, 105 SO, 1.373 WHIP)
Trevor Bauer, CLE (26 GS, 5-8, 4.18 ERA, 143 SO, 1.379 WHIP)
David Buchanan, PHI (20 GS, 6-8, 3.75 ERA, 71 SO, 1.292 WHIP)
Jacob deGrom, NYM (22 GS, 9-6, 2.69 ERA, 144 SO, 1.140 WHIP)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (20 GS, 7-7, 3.57 ERA, 88 SO, 1.315 WHIP)
Collin McHugh, HOU (25 GS, 11-9, 2.73 ERA, 157 SO, 1.022 WHIP)
Jake Odorizzi, TB (31 GS, 11-13, 4.13 ERA, 174 SO, 1.280 WHIP)
Matt Shoemaker, LAA (20 GS, 16-4, 3.04 ERA, 124 SO, 1.074 WHIP)
Marcus Stroman, TOR (20 GS, 11-6, 3.65 ERA, 111 SO, 1.171 WHIP)
Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (20 GS, 13-5, 2.77 ERA, 141 SO, 1.056 WHIP)
Yordano Ventura, KC (30 GS, 14-10, 3.20 ERA, 159 SO, 1.295 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Roenis Elias, SEA (29 GS, 10-12, 3.85 ERA, 143 SO, 1.314 WHIP)
Tyler Matzek, COL (19 GS, 6-11, 4.05 ERA, 91 SO, 1.394 WHIP)

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Dellin Betances, NYY (70 G, 5-0, 1.40 ERA, 135 SO, 0.778 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jeurys Familia, NYM (76 G, 2-5, 2.21 ERA, 73 SO, 1.177 WHIP, 5 SV)
Ken Giles, PHI (44 G, 3-1, 1.18 ERA, 64 SO, 0.788 WHIP, 1 SV)
David Hale, ATL (45 G, 4-5, 3.30 ERA, 44 SO, 1.466 WHIP, 0 SV)
Tommy Kahnle, COL (54 G, 2-1, 4.19 ERA, 63 SO, 1.194 WHIP, 0 SV)
Carlos Martinez, STL (57 G, 2-4, 4.03 ERA, 84 SO, 1.41 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jake Petricka, CWS (67 G, 1-6, 2.96 ERA, 55 SO, 1.370 WHIP, 14 SV)
Donn Roach, SD (16 G, 1-0, 4.75 ERA, 17 SO, 1.681 WHIP, 0 SV)
Daniel Webb, CWS (57 G, 6-5, 3.99 ERA, 58 SO, 1.493 WHIP, 0 SV)

If you're wondering why I separated the starting pitchers from the relief pitchers, and then if they are right handed or left handed, allow me to explain (conspiracy theory time folks…get something to drink, this may take a while).

As you all know, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule in 2010. Somehow, Strasburg was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Now, Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so is Neftali Feliz, at the time, the star closer for the Rangers, and a player many people believed should have been named onto the team as the RHP. In past years, it didn't matter if a pitcher was a starter or a reliever, only ONE RHP or ONE LHP was chosen for the team (of course there were exceptions…tie votes came into play).

So what does Topps do? For the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, they added a relief pitcher spot. This ensured not only Feliz' spot on the team, but gave Topps justification to include their poster boy Strasburg.

Then in 2011, instead of continuing the trend of having three pitchers (a RHP, a LHP, and a RP), Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher and one Relief pitcher. In 2012, Topps went back to a "three-person pitching staff" which included a Starting RHP, a starting LHP, and one reliever. This was done again in 2013.

Back to the point. As in past years, this blog has done a contest where the object is to outguess me in choosing the Rookie Teams. The Grand Prize, if a contestant correctly guessed all the members of said team, was a complete 150 card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (appropriate, no?). Anyway, while few have come close, none have won the grand prize. Those who did guess more players correctly than I did would win a pack of that year's Updates and Highlights/Update Series.

Well, we're doing it again.

So take a look at the list above, send me an e-mail (bdj610@hotmail.com) with your picks by November 2, 2014. You can pick the following (11 players total):

• One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
• Three players for OF,
• One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP.

After November 2, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2013 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy. This year, the field is wide open in certain positions (second base, shortstop, outfield, pitcher), so anything goes.

So here's to hopefully many entries by November 2. Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

The MLB managers have spoken, and today, Topps has announced the players named to the 54th All-Star Rookie Team!!! (If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team earlier this month).

• 1B Matt Adams, St. Louis Cardinals (.284 batting average, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 2013 stats)
• 2B Jedd Gyorko, San Diego Padres (.249, 23, 63)
• 3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (.267, 10, 52)
• SS Jose Iglesias, Detroit Tigers (.303, 3, 29)
• OF Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays (.293, 13, 53)
• OF Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers (.319, 19, 42)
• OF Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins (.288, 4, 16)
• C Evan Gattis, Atlanta Braves (.243, 21, 65)
• RHP Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins (12-6, 2.19 ERA, 187 K's)
• LHP Hyun-jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers (14-8, 3.00, 154)
• RP Jim Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers (60 IP, 2.70, 75, 28 Saves)

So I guessed 10 out of now 11 spots correctly.  I guessed Darin Ruf for the third outfielder's spot and Paco Rodriguez as my left handed reliever. I did a lot better than last year (when I got 9 of 11 correct).

Now my comments. At least now Topps is showing some consistency with naming three pitchers to the team (two starters, 1 reliever). Good thing that I asked those entering the All-Star Rookie Team contest to name four pitchers (two right-handers, two-left handers) just in case.

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2014 Topps cards.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Who Will Be Named to Topps 2013 All-Star Rookie Team?

The contest deadline has past and I am no longer taking any entries for the big All-Star Rookie Team contest. I thank everyone who took time to participate.  There were a lot of interesting choices amongst the field of participants, so I am wishing myself the best. This could get mighty expensive if I make enough mistakes.

The Topps Company has already sent the 30 MLB managers a ballot that will determine who will get voted into the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, and will get that lovely gold trophy added to their 2014 Topps baseball cards. So without further ado, here are my picks for the 2014 Topps All-Star Rookie team. If you out-guessed me, participants who have already sent their entries to my e-mail address (and those who inadvertently left their picks in the comments) could win a complete 150-card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (contest rules here):

• 1B: Matt Adams, STL (108 G, .284, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 0.839 OPS, 0 SB)
• 2B: Jedd Gyorko, SD (125 G, .249, 23 HR, 63 RBI, 0.745 OPS, 1 SB)
• 3B: Nolan Arenado, COL (133 G, .267, 10 HR, 52 RBI, 0.706 OPS, 2 SB)
• SS: Jose Iglesias, DET (109 G, .303, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 0.735 OPS, 5 SB)
• OF: Wil Myers, TB (88 G, .293, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 0.831 OPS, 5 SB)
• OF: Yasiel Puig, LAD (104 G, .319, 19 HR, 42 RBI, 0.925 OPS, 11 SB)
• OF: Darin Ruf, PHI (73 G, .247, 14 HR, 30 RBI, 0.806 OPS, 0 SB)
• C: Evan Gattis, ATL (105 G, .243, 21 HR, 65 RBI, 0.771 OPS, 0 SB)
• RHSP: Jose Fernandez, MIA (28 GS, 12-6, 2.19 ERA, 187 SO, 0.978 WHIP)
• LHSP: Hyun-jin Ryu, LAD (30 GS, 14-8, 3 ERA, 154 SO, 1.203 WHIP)
• RHRP: Jim Henderson, MIL (61 G, 5-5, 2.7 ERA, 75 SO, 1.133 WHIP, 28 SV)
• LHRP: Paco Rodriguez, LAD (76 G, 3-4, 2.32 ERA, 63 SO, 0.901 WHIP, 2 SV)
  

For sure there will be players like Didi Gregorius of the Diamondbacks, Conor Gillaspie of the White Sox, Brandon Barnes of the Astros, and A. J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks warrant consideration, as well as Julio Teheran of the Braves, Trevor Rosenthal of the Cardinals, and others will have their votes (from either the MLB managers, or you the readers). I made these picks before any e-mails were sent (scheduling it for today soon after the post announcing the contest), and it looks like almost everybody picked the same three outfielders for the ASRT.

Let the debates begin!!!  And good luck to everybody.  Now...we wait.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Meet the Possible Contenders for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Okay, the season is more than two weeks over, and the Championship Series on both sides are getting extremely interesting. But before the World Series begins, I'd like to go over the Top Rookies of 2013.

Why?

Because these are the guys that are going to be strong contenders for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, that's why.

Anyway, perusing the MLB website, they have added a set of statistics in a section called the Top Rookie Tracker. This section features just a handful of the players MLB believes are contenders for either League's Rookie of the Year. And believe it or not, the players on the list they have provided stats for well represent each of the positions Topps uses for their Rookie All-Star team (1b, 2b, 3b, ss, three outfield, c, rhp, lhp, and relief pitcher…ahem...will explain this in a minute). So below is a list of potential nominees that the 30 MLB managers will see when they cast their votes for the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. The stats are as of the end of the 2013 regular season:

First basemen:
Matt Adams, STL (108 G, .284, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 0.839 OPS, 0 SB)
Nate Freiman, OAK (80 G, .274, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 0.716 OPS, 0 SB)

Second basemen:
Derek Dietrich, MIA (57 G, .214, 9 HR, 23 RBI, 0.679 OPS, 1 SB)
Nick Franklin, SEA (102 G, .225, 12 HR, 45 RBI, 0.686 OPS, 6 SB)
Scooter Gennett, MIL (69 G, .324, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 0.834 OPS, 2 SB)
Jedd Gyorko, SD (125 G, .249, 23 HR, 63 RBI, 0.745 OPS, 1 SB)
Brock Holt, BOS (26 G, .203, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 0.513 OPS, 1 SB)
Jurickson Profar, TEX (85 G, .234, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 0.644 OPS, 2 SB)
Chris Valaika, MIA (22 G, .219, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 0.605 OPS, 0 SB)

Third basemen:
Nolan Arenado, COL (133 G, .267, 10 HR, 52 RBI, 0.706 OPS, 2 SB)
Conor Gillaspie, CWS (134 G, .245, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 0.695 OPS, 0 SB)
Luis Jimenez, LAA (34 G, .260, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 0.608 OPS, 0 SB)
Anthony Rendon, WSH (98 G, .265, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 0.725 OPS, 1 SB)
Josh Satin, NYM (75 G, .279, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 0.781 OPS, 1 SB)
Ryan Wheeler, COL (28 G, .220, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 0.506 OPS, 0 SB)

Shortstops:
Didi Gregorius, ARI (103 G, .252, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 0.704 OPS, 0 SB)
Adeiny Hechavarria, MIA (148 G, .227, 3 HR, 42 RBI, 0.565 OPS, 11 SB)
Jose Iglesias, DET (109 G, .303, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 0.735 OPS, 5 SB)
Pete Kozma, STL (143 G, .217, 1 HR, 35 RBI, 0.548 OPS, 3 SB)
Brad Miller, SEA (76 G, .265, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 0.737 OPS, 5 SB)
Jonathan Villar, HOU (58 G, .243, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 0.64 OPS, 18 SB)

Outfielders:
Oswaldo Arcia, MIN (97 G, .251, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 0.734 OPS, 1 SB)
Brandon Barnes, HOU (136 G, .240, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 0.635 OPS, 11 SB)
Jackie Bradley Jr., BOS (37 G, .189, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0.617 OPS, 2 SB)
Nick Castellanos, DET (11 G, .278, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0.556 OPS, 0 SB)
Khris Davis, MIL (56 G, .279, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 0.949 OPS, 3 SB)
Adam Eaton, ARI (66 G, .252, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 0.674 OPS, 5 SB)
Avisail Garcia, CWS (72 G, .283, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 0.731 OPS, 3 SB)
Robbie Grossman, HOU (63 G, .268, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 0.702 OPS, 6 SB)
Billy Hamilton, CIN (13 G, .368, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0.902 OPS, 13 SB)
Aaron Hicks, MIN (81 G, .192, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 0.597 OPS, 9 SB)
Juan Lagares, NYM (121 G, .242, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 0.633 OPS, 6 SB)
David Lough, KC (96 G, .286, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 0.724 OPS, 5 SB)
Alfredo Marte, ARI (22 G, .186, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0.527 OPS, 0 SB)
Wil Myers, TB (88 G, .293, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 0.831 OPS, 5 SB)
Marcell Ozuna, MIA (70 G, .265, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 0.693 OPS, 5 SB)
A.J. Pollock, ARI (137 G, .269, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 0.73 OPS, 12 SB)
Yasiel Puig, LAD (104 G, .319, 19 HR, 42 RBI, 0.925 OPS, 11 SB)
Darin Ruf, PHI (73 G, .247, 14 HR, 30 RBI, 0.806 OPS, 0 SB)
Logan Schafer, MIL (134 G, .211, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 0.601 OPS, 7 SB)
J.B. Shuck, LAA (129 G, .293, 2 HR, 39 RBI, 0.697 OPS, 8 SB)
Scott Van Slyke, LAD (53 G, .240, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 0.807 OPS, 1 SB)
Christian Yelich, MIA (62 G, .288, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 0.766 OPS, 10 SB)

Catchers
Rob Brantly, MIA (67 G, .211, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 0.528 OPS, 0 SB)
Evan Gattis, ATL (105 G, .243, 21 HR, 65 RBI, 0.771 OPS, 0 SB)
Tony Sanchez, PIT (22 G, .233, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0.688 OPS, 0 SB)
Travis d'Arnaud, NYM (31 G, .202, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0.548 OPS, 0 SB)

Right-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Wily Peralta, MIL (32 GS, 11-15, 4.37 ERA, 129 SO, 1.418 WHIP)
Shelby Miller, STL (31 GS, 15-9, 3.06 ERA, 169 SO, 1.205 WHIP)
Julio Teheran, ATL (30 GS, 14-8, 3.2 ERA, 170 SO, 1.174 WHIP)
Jose Fernandez, MIA (28 GS, 12-6, 2.19 ERA, 187 SO, 0.978 WHIP)
Dan Straily, OAK (27 GS, 10-8, 3.96 ERA, 124 SO, 1.240 WHIP)
Chris Archer, TB (23 GS, 9-7, 3.22 ERA, 101 SO, 1.1269 WHIP)
Tom Koehler, MIA (23 GS, 5-10, 4.41 ERA, 92 SO, 1.356 WHIP)
Gerrit Cole, PIT (19 GS, 10-7, 3.22 ERA, 100 SO, 1.1676 WHIP)
Jonathan Pettibone, PHI (18 GS, 5-4, 4.04 ERA, 66 SO, 1.465 WHIP)
Justin Grimm, TEX (17 GS, 7-9, 5.97 ERA, 76 SO, 1.571 WHIP)
Nick Tepesch, TEX (17 GS, 4-6, 4.84 ERA, 76 SO, 1.365 WHIP)
Zack Wheeler, NYM (17 GS, 7-5, 3.42 ERA, 84 SO, 1.360 WHIP)
Brandon Maurer, SEA (14 GS, 5-8, 6.3 ERA, 70 SO, 1.566 WHIP)
Brad Peacock, HOU (14 GS, 5-6, 5.18 ERA, 77 SO, 1.380 WHIP)
Todd Redmond, TOR (14 GS, 4-3, 4.32 ERA, 76 SO, 1.207 WHIP)
Allen Webster, BOS (7 GS, 1-2, 8.6 ERA, 23 SO, 1.813 WHIP)
Hiram Burgos, MIL (6 GS, 1-2, 6.44 ERA, 18 SO, 1.670 WHIP)

Left-Handed Starting Pitchers:
Hyun-jin Ryu, LAD (30 GS, 14-8, 3 ERA, 154 SO, 1.203 WHIP)
Martin Perez, TEX (20 GS, 10-6, 3.62 ERA, 84 SO, 1.335 WHIP)
Tony Cingrani, CIN (18 GS, 7-4, 2.92 ERA, 120 SO, 1.098 WHIP)
Pedro Hernandez, MIN (12 GS, 3-3, 6.83 ERA, 29 SO, 1.817 WHIP)
Tyler Skaggs, ARI (7 GS, 2-3, 5.12 ERA, 36 SO, 1.370 WHIP)

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Jim Henderson, MIL (61 G, 5-5, 2.7 ERA, 75 SO, 1.133 WHIP, 28 SV)
Danny Farquhar, SEA (46 G, 0-3, 4.2 ERA, 79 SO, 1.185 WHIP, 16 SV)
Josh Fields, HOU (41 G, 1-3, 4.97 ERA, 40 SO, 1.289 WHIP, 5 SV)
Trevor Rosenthal, STL (74 G, 2-4, 2.63 ERA, 108 SO, 1.101 WHIP, 3 SV)
Cody Allen, CLE (77 G, 6-1, 2.43 ERA, 88 SO, 1.251 WHIP, 2 SV)
Dane De La Rosa, LAA (75 G, 6-1, 2.86 ERA, 65 SO, 1.161 WHIP, 2 SV)
Kyuji Fujikawa, CHC (12 G, 1-1, 5.25 ERA, 14 SO, 1.083 WHIP, 2 SV)
Chia-Jen Lo, HOU (19 G, 0-3, 4.19 ERA, 16 SO, 1.396 WHIP, 2 SV)
Alfredo Figaro, MIL (33 G, 3-3, 4.14 ERA, 54 SO, 1.243 WHIP, 1 SV)
Jake Odorizzi, TB (7 G, 0-1, 3.94 ERA, 22 SO, 1.213 WHIP, 1 SV)
Adam Warren, NYY (34 G, 3-2, 3.39 ERA, 64 SO, 1.428 WHIP, 1 SV)
Robert Coello, LAA (16 G, 2-2, 3.71 ERA, 23 SO, 1.294 WHIP, 1 SV)
Seth Maness, STL (66 G, 5-2, 2.32 ERA, 35 SO, 1.258 WHIP, 1 SV)
Yoervis Medina, SEA (63 G, 4-6, 2.91 ERA, 71 SO, 1.3086 WHIP, 1 SV)
Bruce Rondon, DET (30 G, 1-2, 3.45 ERA, 30 SO, 1.360 WHIP, 1 SV)
Paul Clemens, HOU (35 G, 4-7, 5.4 ERA, 49 SO, 1.472 WHIP, 0 SV)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (20 G, 3-5, 5.66 ERA, 49 SO, 1.342 WHIP, 0 SV)
Tanner Roark, WSH (14 G, 7-1, 1.51 ERA, 40 SO, 0.913 WHIP, 0 SV)
Trevor Bauer, CLE (4 G, 1-2, 5.29 ERA, 11 SO, 1.823 WHIP, 0 SV)
Steve Johnson, BAL (9 G, 1-1, 7.47 ERA, 20 SO, 1.723 WHIP, 0 SV)
Carter Capps, SEA (53 G, 3-3, 5.49 ERA, 66 SO, 1.627 WHIP, 0 SV)
Preston Claiborne, NYY (44 G, 0-2, 4.11 ERA, 42 SO, 1.291 WHIP, 0 SV)
Will Harris, ARI (61 G, 4-1, 2.91 ERA, 53 SO, 1.234 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jeremy Jeffress, TOR (10 G, 1-0, 0.87 ERA, 12 SO, 1.258 WHIP, 0 SV)
Brandon Kintzler, MIL (71 G, 3-3, 2.69 ERA, 58 SO, 1.064 WHIP, 0 SV)
Jean Machi, SF (51 G, 3-1, 2.38 ERA, 51 SO, 1.094 WHIP, 0 SV)
Bryan Morris, PIT (55 G, 5-7, 3.46 ERA, 37 SO, 1.307 WHIP, 0 SV)
Ryan Pressly, MIN (49 G, 3-3, 3.87 ERA, 49 SO, 1.278 WHIP, 0 SV)
Stephen Pryor, SEA (7 G, 0-0, 0 ERA, 7 SO, 0.545 WHIP, 0 SV)
A.J. Ramos, MIA (68 G, 3-4, 3.15 ERA, 86 SO, 1.262 WHIP, 0 SV)
Hector Rondon, CHC (45 G, 2-1, 4.77 ERA, 44 SO, 1.408 WHIP, 0 SV)
Alex Wilson, BOS (26 G, 1-1, 4.88 ERA, 22 SO, 1.734 WHIP, 0 SV)

Left-Handed Relief Pitchers:
Paco Rodriguez, LAD (76 G, 3-4, 2.32 ERA, 63 SO, 0.901 WHIP, 2 SV)
T.J. McFarland, BAL (38 G, 4-1, 4.22 ERA, 58 SO, 1.486 WHIP, 0 SV)
Joe Ortiz, TEX (32 G, 2-2, 4.23 ERA, 27 SO, 1.253 WHIP, 0 SV)
Scott Rice, NYM (73 G, 4-5, 3.71 ERA, 41 SO, 1.352 WHIP, 0 SV)
Caleb Thielbar, MIN (49 G, 3-2, 1.76 ERA, 39 SO, 0.826 WHIP, 0 SV)
Justin Wilson, PIT (58 G, 6-1, 2.08 ERA, 59 SO, 1.058 WHIP, 0 SV)

If you're wondering why I separated the starting pitchers from the relief pitchers, and then if they are right handed or left handed, allow me to explain (conspiracy theory time folks…get something to drink, this may take a while).

As you all know, Topps instituted what I am calling the "Stephen Strasburg" rule in 2010. Somehow, Strasburg was added to the ASRT even though he only pitched in 12 games. Now, Strasburg is a right-handed pitcher. But so is Neftali Feliz, at the time, the star closer for the Rangers, and a player many people believed should have been named onto the team as the RHP. In past years, it didn't matter if a pitcher was a starter or a reliever, only ONE RHP or ONE LHP was chosen for the team (of course there were exceptions…tie votes came into play).

So what does Topps do? For the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, they added a relief pitcher spot. This ensured not only Feliz' spot on the team, but gave Topps justification to include their poster boy Strasburg.

Then in 2011, instead of continuing the trend of having three pitchers (a RHP, a LHP, and a RP), Topps went back to the two-pitcher format, but instead of it being a RHP and LHP as in years past, the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team included just one Starting Pitcher and one Relief pitcher. In 2012, Topps went back to a "three-person pitching staff" which included a Starting RHP, a starting LHP, and one reliever. So for four straight years, Topps had four differe

Back to the point. As in past years, this blog has done a contest where the object is to outguess me in choosing the Rookie Teams. The Grand Prize, if a contestant correctly guessed all the members of said team, was a complete 150 card set of 2005 Topps Rookie Cup (appropriate, no?). Anyway, while few have come close, none have won the grand prize. Those who did guess more players correctly than I did would win a pack of that year's Updates and Highlights/Update Series.

Well, we're doing it again.

So take a look at the list above, send me an e-mail (bdj610@hotmail.com) with your picks by November 2, 2013. You can pick the following (12 players total):

• One player each for 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, C,
• Three players for OF,
• One Starting RHP, Starting LHP, Relief RHP, Relief LHP.

The reason why I'm asking for four pitchers is because who knows how Topps is going to designate the pitchers for the 2013 ASRT.  Picking four pitchers will cover all bases.  That way, however Topps announces the final selections, your choices will count.

After November 2, I will make my selections and then we will all wait together until the formal announcements have been made. If you out guess me, let's say I guess seven of the 10 or 11 spots correctly, and you guess eight or more, then you automatically win a Hobby pack of 2013 Topps Update Series. If you guess all the players correctly (if there are ten or eleven, who knows), then you will be entered into a drawing to win the 2005 Topps Rookie Card base set (Beckett Value $20.00 - $40.00). It's that easy.

So here's to hopefully many entries by November 2. Good luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team Contest Winners!!!‏

Now that the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team has been announced, I have spent the good part of the afternoon going over all the e-mails I received, seeing who outguessed me in the All-Star Rookie Team contest.

Even with all the unanimous picks of Cespedes, Harper, Trout and Darvish, nobody correctly predicted all eleven players who would make the team this year. The fact that Topps named returned to eleven players for this year's team (unlike last year when the team consisted of ten players) makes me glad that I covered all bases and asked those participating to name four pitchers (a right-handed and left-handed starter, and a right-handed and left-handed reliever). But once again, nobody wins the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup set grand prize.

More entries were sent to me this year than in last year's contest, so needless to say I was a bit nervous that the results would be expensive on my part. But out of all the entries I did receive, only five people beat my score of nine. Congratulatory e-mails have already been sent, so it's okay for me to announce the winners:

Congratulations to Jason Carter, Reilly Cotter, Tyler Geivett, Don Sherman, and Anthony Zarriello!!!

Many of the people who participated in the contest did get the same number of players right that I did...a big fat nine. If Steve Lombardozzi was a unanimous pick by all of our participants in the contest, two of the men above would have had perfect scores and would have been in the drawing to win the grand prize. Regardless, all five gentlemen will receive a Hobby pack of 2012 Update Series for outguessing me.

Thank you very much to all who participated in the contest. Although nobody got all ten to win the grand prize, I promise to run this contest again next year. Hopefully somebody will win it.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

The MLB managers have spoken, and today, Topps has announced the players named to the 54th All-Star Rookie Team!!! (If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team earlier this month).

• 1B: Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs (0.285 batting average, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 2012 stats)
• 2B: Steve Lombardozzi, Washington Nationals (.273, 3, 27)
• 3B: Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds (.273, 19, 67)
• SS: Zack Cozart, Cincinnati Reds (.246, 15, 35)
• OF: Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics (.292, 23, 82)
• OF: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals (.270, 22, 59)
• OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (.326, 30, 83)
• C: Wilin Rosario, Colorado Rockies (.270, 28, 71)
• RHP: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers (16-9, 3.90 ERA, 221 K's)
• LHP: Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks (16-11, 3.33, 144)
• RP:  Addison Reed, Chicago White Sox (3-2, 4.75, 54, 29 saves)

So I guessed 9 out of now 11 spots correctly.  I guessed Jesus Montero for the catcher spot (I guess if he had stayed with the Yankees he would have won this outright), and Ryan Cook & Rex Brothers as my relief pitchers.  I did a lot better than last year (when I got 6 of 10 correct).  

Now my comments. Hey, Topps brought back the Strasburg rule for 2012.  Instead of having just one starting pitcher and one relief pitcher, they have returned to the right-handed and left-handed starting pitchers to go with one relief pitcher.  Maybe it was a good thing that I asked those entering the All-Star Rookie Team contest to name four pitchers (two right-handers, two-left handers) just in case.

While I have not yet seen if there were any unanimous votes, there was little doubt that Cespedes, Harper, Trout, and Darvish would be selected.  It could have gone either way with Rizzo and the Padres' Yonder Alonso.  But Rizzo had considerably comparable numbers while playing in less games.  Personally, I'm totally surprised that Ryan Cook was not selected as the relief pitcher for the team.  He definitely had the numbers to warrant him getting the nod, but Reed was a closer for the entire year, while Cook was a middle reliever who took the closer role in the middle of the season (and later returned to set-up when closer late in the year).

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2013 Topps cards.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

If the Readers of This Blog Decided the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

A comment from the gentleman who pens The Writers Journey blog, Jason T. Carter, got me wondering this myself. On my post announcing my picks for the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, he wrote:

"I would be interested in seeing a list of the top vote-getters from the readers."

To which I thought I should respond, seeing that nobody else has ever asked this before.

Twenty people took me up on the challenge to out-guess me in the ASRT contest.  Three people picked the same 12 players on their ballots, and none matched my picks completely player by player.  Four players were unanimous picks.

So without further ado, here are the final tallies.  If the readers of this blog decided the 2012 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, the players to be honored with a rookie cup on one of their cards would be:

• First Baseman:  Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (11 votes)
• Second Baseman:  Steve Lombardozzi, Nationals (19)
• Third Baseman:  Todd Frazier, Reds (16)
• Shortstop:  Zack Cozart, Reds (20)
• Outfielder:  Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics (21, unanimous pick)
• Outfielder:  Bryce Harper, Nationals (21, unanimous pick)
• Outfielder:  Mike Trout, Angels (21, unanimous pick)
• Catcher:  Wilin Rosario, Rockies (19)
• Right-Handed Starting Pitcher:  Yu Darvish, Rangers (21, unanimous pick)
• Left-Handed Starting Pitcher:  Wade Miley, Diamondbacks (14)
• Right-Handed Relief Pitcher:  Ryan Cook, Athletics (13)
• Left-Handed Relief Pitcher:  Rex Brothers, Rockies (9)

Other players selected by the readers:

• 1B:  Yonder Alonso, Padres (7); Matt Carpenter, Cardinals (3)
• 2B:  Jason Kipnis, Indians (1);  Donovan Solano, Marlins (1)
• 3B:  Wil Middlebrooks, Red Sox (5)
• SS:  Pete Kozma, Cardinals (1)
• C:  Jesus Montero, Mariners (2)
• LHSP:  Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles (2), Tommy Milone, Athletics (2), Scott Diamond, Twins (1), Matt Moore, Rays (1), Drew Pomeranz, Rockies (1)
• RHRP:  Addison Reed, White Sox (6), Jim Henderson, Brewers (1), Tom Wilhemsen, Mariners (1)
• LHRP:  Robbie Ross, Rangers (7), Hector Santiago, White Sox (5)

Eleven of the twelve picks I chose were voted by the majority of contestants (I seem to be one of two people to think Montero has a shot at catcher).  Who knows how Topps plans with the pitchers, especially since they've changed the positions three time in three years:

• In 2009, as it had been since 1959, there were two pitchers on the team:  one right-handed pitcher and  one left-handed pitcher.
• In 2010, thanks to what I call the "Strasburg rule," Topps' ASRT included three pitchers:  a right-handed starter, a left-handed starter, and a reliever, regardless of what arm he used to pitch.
• In 2011, there were only two pitchers named to the team, one starting pitcher and one relief pitcher.

Good luck to all the participants.  I get the feeling that this could get expensive for me really soon.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama